Railroad-tie amd rail-clamp



IgE. SPRINGER'.l

RAILROAD TIE AND RAIL CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED APR. II, I9I9.

1,321,256, P atnted Nom-11, 1919.

IIIII |I A TTOR/IIEYS JOHN EMIVIET'I SPRINGER, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

RAILROAD-TIE .AND RAIL-GLAIVIVP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 11, 191e.

Application filed Aprn 11, 1919.'. serial No. 289,320.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. SPRINGER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk and State of Virginia, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Railroad-Ties and Rail-Clamps, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to railroad ties, and more particularly to composition ties, my object being the provision of a manufactured tie to replace the usual wooden tie, having novel, effective rail holding means which will not only avoid the use of spikes but will firmly hold the rails against spreading, overturning and creeping and thus avoid the known disadvantages of spike held rails as well as the necessity 0f employing rail braces and the like particularly at curves.

Other and more specific objects and advantages of my improved tie and rail holding means will appear in the course of the followin description, referring to the accompanying drawings from an inspection of which it will be noted that my improved tie presents a neat compact appearance and is strikingly simple and lacking in Aprojections likely to catch in clothes and the like.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved tie.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view,taken substantially on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a top plan view.

Referring now to these figures my invention proposes a composition tie generally indicated at 10, which is preferably molded to the desired shape, and which has transverse grooves in its upper surface adjacent to the opposite ends thereof to form rail receiving grooves 11. The lower portions of these grooves are shaped to conform to those portions of a rail to be seated in the grooves, for instance, the base of the usually formed rails or one of the heads of a double headed reversible rail as indicated at 12 in Figs. 1 and 2.

The tie is also provided with transverse hollow recesses 13 along the inner sides of the grooves 11, the walls at the inner sides of which recesses are undercut preferably by beveling the same as seen at 14.

At the opposite or outer sides of the grooves 11, the tie 10 has upwardly and inwardly curved lugs or abutments 15, the

inner portions of which partially overlie the grooves 11-and are shaped to fit into one side of the rails 12 and to snugly engage the webs of the rails from the heads thereof to the bases or rather those portions seated within the grooves 11. These lugs or abutments 15 are preferably integral with the tie 10 and extend across the full width of its upper surface as seen respectively in Figs. 2 and 3.

My invention further proposes clamps 16 of similar or dili'erent material with respect to the tie 10 for location within the recesses 13, having iat base portions to seat on the bases of the recesses, terminating at one end in beveled ends 17 to it the beveled undercut tie walls 14, and having upwardly and y outwardly curved portions 18` at their opposite ends to fit into the inner sides of the rails similar to the manner the lugs or abutments 15 engage the outer sides of the rails.

In practice the rails are shifted laterally into the tie grooves and into engagement with the lugs or abutments and the clamps 16 are then shifted endwise into the recesses from one side of the tie and after being positioned as shown in the drawing, are secured in place by means 0f bolts 19 which extend through the lug 15, the rail and the clamp 16 at each end of the tie, to securely hold the parts in connected relation.

It is thus obvious that overturning of rails and spreading thereof is effectively prevented, as also rail creeping which latter is defeated by the presence ofthe bolts 19, and I am thus enabled to provide an effective substitute for wooden ties and at the same time promote more effective rail holdin than can possibly be accomplished with the means commonly used in connection with wooden ties.

I claim A composition* tie having transverse grooves in its upper surface forming rail seats and provided with upstanding integral lugs at the outer sides'of the grooves partially overlying the latter and shaped to snugly engage the web of a rail at one side, between and against its head and base, said tie having transverse recesses at the inner sides of its said grooves of similar depth to the grooves and provided with undercut beveled walls at the inner sides thereof, and clamps having fiat bases interfitting in said recesses, and having integral upstanding portions at their outer ends similar to and opposing said lugs of the tie to engage the having their upper surfaces curved to merge inner sides of the rails, seid clamps having into the upper surface of the tie for the 10 beveiel1 edges at their inner sides exteiiilding purpose described. V

beneat the undercut beveled Walls o t e tie and bolts extending through said tie lugs JOHN EMMETT SPRINGER' and the opposing portions of said clamps Witnesses:

and adapted to extend also through the rail L. P. MATTHEWS,

Webs, as described, seid lugs and seid chr-Inps W. LEON HALL.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

